On Monday, China's top economic planner laid out new measures to curb green house emissions brought by coal-fired powerplants in the notoriously polluted country.

In a release, the central government announced they are banning construction of new coal-fired power plants in areas with surplus power, even postponing construction of some approved plants in 13 provinces until at least 2018.

Apart from the banning announcement, NDRC also mentioned that some areas will face shortage of electricity; however the government will give preference to developing power plants that use non-fossil fuels in regions short of energy supplies and arrange to transport power from other provinces.

Thermal power, most of which comes from coal, accounts for the bulk of China's electricity output.

In an interview with New York Times, Nr. Myllyvirta of Greenpeace said "while coal consumption in China is being reduced to help fight air pollution, the country's biggest state-owned electricity generators are adding new coal-fired power plants at a pace not seen in a decade.

"It's definitely a positive step, but it's not even enough to prevent the overcapacity from getting worse," he told the newspaper.